The government adopted an ordinance Tuesday to raise fees for foreign nationals who renew or change the status of their residency in Japan, to up to ¥75,000 from a uniform ¥6,000 at present, effective from October. The revised fees for people who take necessary procedures at an administrative office counter will apply to residency extensions of up to three months, at ¥10,000; of one year, at ¥33,000; of three to under five years, at ¥64,000; and of five years or more, at ¥75,000. Applying for permanent residency status will cost ¥200,000, up sharply from ¥10,000.
The fee hikes were included in the revised immigration control and refugee recognition law enacted in May. Meanwhile, the scope of people eligible for reduced fees was expanded based on public comments. The Immigration Services Agency’s related guidelines initially stipulated that the fee can be reduced to ¥10,000 for temporary stays and ¥20,000 for permanent residency for people who meet two conditions — having financial hardship equivalent to the levels of welfare recipients under the public assistance law and needing humanitarian consideration.
Based on public comments, the agency expanded the scope of people whose fees can be reduced in light of humanitarian condition to include foreign nationals who single-handedly safeguard and raise the biological children of Japanese nationals or special permanent foreign residents, as well as those for whom the denial of residency is considered inhumane. Special permanent foreign residents refer to those who have lived in Japan since before World War II and lost their Japanese citizenship after the war, as well as their descendants. The revised law caps the fees at ¥100,000 for temporary residency and ¥300,000 for permanent residency.
Specific fee levels are decided under a relevant ordinance.
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